Part II: In Which I Register a Gang Member to Vote
As promised, I volunteered again for the Obama campaign last Saturday. Maya, one of my co-workers, and I spent 5 hours canvassing in one of Denver's working-class neighborhoods.
The day started off with a pre-canvas training at a local park. Then, Maya and I gathered our lists and some Obama pamphlets to distribute and drove over to our route. I gave Maya some tips based on my prior experience on the way (e.g. stay out of yards with dogs in them, even if you think it's safe). We arrived at our designated area and started walking the route.
Not more than 100 yards down the road, a guy on a bike starts yelling at us. "Hey, are you guys registering to vote?" he asks. I tell him that we're registering voters and that he could sign up right then if he wanted to. "How much is it?" he asks. "Nothing, it's free," I tell him. "Serious?" he says "Man, I was gonna give you ten bucks." Maybe he wasn't the most informed citizen I have encountered while canvassing, but at least he really wants to vote.
I start to hand him the clipboard so he could fill out the registration. "Nah," he says. "You gotta do it. My hands are shaking. I'm all faded." Then he adds, "Do I look drunk to you? I'm all sweaty." For good measure, he flashes the mostly empty Bacardi flask in his pocket.
Now, at this point, I'm feeling a little sketched out. But the situation, while weird, didn't seem to be dangerous. And at least he was on a bike and not driving.
I get his license (his name is Lloyd) and start filling out the form. As I'm copying his information, Lloyd sees another guy walking towards us wearing black jeans and a black-and-white plaid flannel shirt that's only buttoned at the top. Then Lloyd asks me, "Yo. Have you ever seen a dude get knocked out in daylight?" I'm still copying his information, so it doesn't immediately occur to me that Lloyd might be about to pick a fight with a member of a rival gang. As it dawns on me that Maya and I might not be talking to the most upstanding of characters, Lloyd reconsiders, "Nah. He's too little. Just wouldn't be fair." I figure we're OK but I start writing faster. Much faster.
I promise I am not making up this next part. Maya will vouch for me. Though we had started the day eager to work for "the change we need," we suddenly find ourselves in a bad rap video.
As the guy in the black-and-white flannel passes by, Lloyd (still drunk, still on bike) flashes the gang sign for "west side" and sneers at him. For a split second, I almost laugh at the absurdity of the situation--a dude flashing gang signs while registering to vote--but then I realize this could end up badly for Maya and myself. I determine that if either guy reaches for a pocket, I'm grabbing Maya and bolting. After all, we can't vote if we're dead.
Thankfully, B&W flannel guy just nods at Lloyd and keeps walking. Lloyd stares him down a bit but turns back to talk to us. Just then, I complete Lloyd's registration and, in a relieved voice, I say "Cool." "What do you mean 'cool'?" asks Lloyd. "He's from the south side. I'm from the west side. What's cool about that?" To which I respond, "No. I mean your registration. It's done. Cool."
"Oh. OK," says Lloyd. "I'm gonna go get some breakfast. There's a place done the street but it's $5.99. I can't pay that." With that, Lloyd bikes off. Maya and I breathe a sigh of relief and then the absurdity of the situation starts to set in. "$5.99's too much, huh?" I say to Maya. "And he was going to pay us ten dollars to register."
So that was how I registered a gang member to vote. The rest of the day was not as eventful (fortunately) but we did complete a list of 94 voters. I met an inspiring woman named Rose who asked me to keep on volunteering "for her" and a strange character named Steve who was building a micro climate in his front yard (good) and hates Muslims (bad). All in all a good day, and, as Maya pointed out, the encounter with Lloyd did make for a good story.
Here are my volunteer stats so far:
10 hours volunteers
102 doors knocked
4 voters registered
1 volunteer recruited (Maya)
$195 raised for Obama
Thank you so much to Sasha, Adam, Will, and Frannie for supporting my day of volunteering by making a donation to Barack Obama! If you would like to get in on the action, I will volunteer 1 hour for every $20 in donation made to Barack Obama through my fundraising page. Dogs, gangs, whatever--I would be proud to go to work for you! The race in Colorado is still tight so every donation makes a difference.
Check out my page here:
Thanks!
Fran
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